


until the oceans catch fire and my heart runs dry

by threefour



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Angst, Happy (?) Ending, M/M, Slow Burn, Violence, i am not very sorry if this causes pain and suffering, there's a fair bit so be warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-05-19 07:35:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14869469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/threefour/pseuds/threefour
Summary: In the turning of an era, all they want is a place to call home.But home was never a place to begin with.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> in case you can't tell from the ungodly number of times i've written the word 'phone' this is brought on entirely by the call call call mv and an overwhelming urge to write about cheol squishing his cheeks
> 
> clicky [ here](https://twitter.com/hobiseokies/status/1005054906644852739) for a moodboard

People seem to have a tendency to forget the power words hold. How a simple sentence, a few inconspicuous syllables stringed together could change a life. Several, maybe.

 

Save them, or bring them to ruin.

 

Seungcheol lets his phone slip out of his hand to land on the table with a loud "thwack" echoing in the empty room. He drops his head between his hands, fingers gripping, twisting into his own hair with frustration as the door of their shared dorm opens. A cold blast of air floods the apartment and drives out any remainder of warmth Seungcheol held onto, fills his nose with the smell of fire and coal dust and dead leaves that autumn brings.

 

He hears feather light steps cross the room, feels a hand on his shoulder. He flinches and bites the inside of his cheek until a metallic taste spreads in his mouth when the hand draws back as if its been burned, though it has always been the other way around. A gentle voice speaks up. "You got the call, too?"

 

Joshua. Hong Jisoo. Of course fate would have it that he'd be the one to find Seungcheol this way. Just as well, though, better him than any of the kids to see him like this. Seungcheol nods awkwardly, jerks a hand in the general direction of where his phone landed and rests his cheek on the icy top of the table with a tired groan.

 

"Well?" There's the screech of chair legs dragged across the floor. "Are you going back?"

 

He turns his head and squishes his other cheek against the table to meet Jisoo's soul-piercing stare, blinks. Blinks again, because this boy has the most breathtaking eyes, a startling gold like the holy magic he practices, gold like thirteen years of sunsets blurred together mixed with a little bit of home, a few drops of joy. The kind of eyes you fall into looking for him but end up losing yourself in the process.

 

"We don't have a choice anymore," a simple enough statement, a truth they all know but it makes Jisoo lean back in the chair and purse his lips either way. "I just-," he breathes out a long sigh, all the fight escaping him with that one puff of air. "I just don't understand why they're doing this now. It has been peaceful for so long."

 

"For too long," another voice adds, its usually airy tone weighed down by the news they received. "Or so the elders believe. I thought it would take at least another generation or two but it seems like the power imbalance is growing much faster than anyone anticipated." Jeonghan says as he steps out of the shadow cast by a set of bookselves and joins them at the table, carrying with him the ever present scent of coffee and vanilla from work.

 

With a glance at the clock hanging across the study, Seungcheol frowns and heaves out a sigh, sitting back up. "The kids are going to be home any time now, we can talk about it more when they get here."

 

As he says this, Jeonghan motions at the door, his vampiric hearing picking up the mess of footsteps running up the stairwell before anyone else. He winces when the younger boys slam open the door and crash through the doorway one by one, their usual level of chaos several times amplified by the stillness in the air of the apartment.

 

Jisoo does a quick head count and tilts his head in question. "Where's Junhui? I thought he had a class with you today, Wonwoo?"

 

"He volunteered to go pick up Hansol and Chan," Wonwoo replies, shrugging his bag off his shoulder and dropping it in a corner. "He said they'll be back a little bit later. What did you want us here for?" He has an idea. Had an idea as soon as his father's assisstant called, requesting that he return home at the earliest convenience, but he leaves it to the oldest three to confirm his suspicions.

 

The three of them exchange a glance, a wordless conversation in mutual understanding that comes with years of standing by each other's sides. They must come to some sort of agreement after a few moments because Jeonghan turns back to them. "Make yourselves comfortable," he says with an unreadable look on his face. "It's going to take a while to explain.

 

*

 

"So they want us to go back because- because of _that?_ " Soonyoung yells, lowering his voice down to a hiss when Seokmin squeezes his shoulder.

 

"That's about the gist of it," Jisoo says, voice quiet and eyes glued to the floor. "It's our oversight, we should have realized far sooner-"

 

"And then what would we have done?" Jihoon interrupts. "Go into hiding again? They'd find us in no time — the factions run this damn place."

 

Jeonghan places a hand on Jisoo's head, fluffs the soft rose hair a little. "Jihoonie is right, Joshuji. Of course it was our mistake too, it should have been obvious since Minghao started teleporting everywhere, or that time Hansol saved your plant. The link to the gods' powers grow the strongest during the turning of an era, they wouldn't want us going rogue at a time like this. There's nothing we can do even if we did know."

 

The room goes quiet at the mention of Hansol, remembering the three missing members have yet to return. Minghao steps forward hesitantly, then quietly asks, "Junhui-ge should be back by now, right?"

 

"He's not picking up," Mingyu adds, turning his phone around to show everyone. "I'm gonna try Channie's phone."

 

"I'll call Sollie." Seungkwan says, hands barely able to hold his phone steady as he enters the digits of Hansol's number.

 

They wait with bated breath as both calls are put on speaker, the overpowering silence between each ring a passing eternity. Seungkwan's call gets sent to voicemail after three rings, but Chan picks up after a while.

 

"...hyungie? Don't... worry, we're alright. The holy faction sent people to come... pick us up after... school," Chan pauses to cough, "Junnie-hyungie is with us... too, we're not... hurt. We're safe... with the faction... ah the signal is corrupt... sorry." His broken up speech stops, then, before any of them can say a word, the call cuts out.

 

Joshua is the first to break the silence that comes after, a soft smile on his face. "I guess... I'll head back to the faction tomorrow, make sure they're alright." He looks down at his lap, fringe flopping down and hiding his eyes.

 

Jeonghan and Seungcheol look at each other, then at Jisoo while everyone else sighs in relief. Jihoon looks as though he's about to protest, but Jeonghan shoots him a withering look and whatever words he had to say never make it past his lips.

 

*

 

It takes Jihoon two hours after they all drift off to do what ever it is that they do at a time like this to finally manage to corner his two oldest hyungs, who had been trying to avoid him like he was death itself, in the kitchen. Without Jisoo around they're that much easier to intimidate — all it takes is for Jihoon to stare them down for a few moments and raise an eyebrow with pointed irritation for Seungcheol to crack.

 

"You know how stubborn Shua is. Once he has his mind set on something, nothing can stop him,." he says with a defeated sigh. "Alright, what do you want to know?"

 

It goes without saying that Jihoon is one of the more perceptive members of their little group, his way of bluntly approaching matters makes for a welcomed break in the tense atmosphere that's settled over the dorm. "You're really going to let him go back." His question turns into a statement halfway when he sees the stone set resolution in Jeonghan's expression.

 

"They'll come after all of us if we make him stay. Jun and the kids were just a warning, but Channie wasn't lying when he said they were safe." Jeonghan has to stop for a moment and collect his thoughts before continuing. The holy faction won't touch them or Shuji, but there's nothing stopping them from coming after the ones with connections to the neutral and chaos camps. The factions are finally making their move now, and we can't afford to get in their way. "

 

A moment of pause. "We are the reason for this war, after all, they won't hesitate to trade our lives in for another generation or two of balance. There's no way Shua will put us in danger even if it means he has to leave." Seungcheol adds.

 

"What about you then, Cheol-hyung? You're just going to let them take your brother?" _What about me?_

 

 

"It's the safest place for him right now," Joshua's soft voice cuts into their conversation. All three heads whip around to see him leaning against the doorway.

 

"Jisoo, I- we were just-" Jeonghan being caught off guard by... anything really, is a rare sight. He tries to come up with something, anything to explain but Joshua just directs a smile at him and shakes his head.

 

"I've been here since the 'if we make him stay' part," he grins, although the smile doesn't reach his eyes. "They're right, I am unable to remain here any longer now that the holy faction has made their move. They've offset the entire playing field, so your factions will likely be taking some drastic measures soon as well."

 

His words are simple, easy to understand stringed together or taken apart, but it makes their hearts sink just as well. Maybe it's the way his voice cracks a little, or how his fingers tremble by his sides, or perhaps how the galaxy of hope lighting his eyes flickers, shatters — in that moment, the weight of their situation finally sinks in.

 

*

 

"We're going to be okay, right, hyungie?" Seungkwans voice is almost entirely drowned out by the thrumming of energy of the darkness in their room, but Jeonghan catches it nonetheless.

 

"Yeah, of course we will." _We have to be_.

 

A rustle of bedsheets. "Alright then, good night, hyung."

 

"Sleep well, Kwan-ah."

 

When they wake up the next morning, just as the first rays of sunlight break past the horizon line, Joshua is nowhere to be found.

 

*

 

Mingyu scrolls through their group chat mindlessly, catching up on the chaos he'd missed while he was in class earlier that day.

 

"Gyu." Someone taps on his shoulder and his voice breaks on a startled yell, flinging the phone in his hand at whoever was standing behind him in a futile attempt to defend himself. They catch it with practiced ease, slender fingers curling around the metallic ring attached to the case given to him as a gag gift.

 

 _"We can't afford to keep replacing your phone when you throw it at people, Mingyu-ya."_ Jeonghan had said with a teasing grin.

 

" _BythenameofKorvoliaifyoudon'tstoptele_ porting everywhere, Hao, I'm actually going to-" he stops mid-threat, suddenly, as if being cut off.

 

Minghao makes a quiet hum. "You're actually going to what?"

 

"I was expecting to be interrupted here," Mingyu shrugs. "So I stopped myself ahead of time."

 

"Why were you expecting to be interrupted?"

 

"I don't know! It just seemed like a good time to be interrupted. Anyway, I'm not..." He quickly glances around the room to make certain the person in question isn't anywhere near them. "I'm not Jihoonie-hyung, you know, I don't threaten people."

 

"Well," Minghao lifts the phone in his hand. "I just came here for this. You recorded the call with Channie, right? Wonwoo-hyung wants it."

 

"Yeah that's fine, you know the passcode already," Mingyu says, dragging his fingers through his bangs a few times. "What does he want the recording for?"

 

Minghao makes a worried face at the question. "Honestly? I have no clue. He says something about the call felt wrong but he's probably just paranoid. You know how he gets when he's stressing out. I can take you there if you want to see?" He extends a hand with his offer.

 

 _He has pretty hands_ , Mingyu notes, then a few seconds later banishes that thought from his head once again.

 

"Sure, I'll come with." He almost flinches when Minghao's fingers find their way between his own, hopes he doesn't feel how clammy Mingyu's palm had suddenly become, before darkness swallows them both and washes away whatever lingering thoughts he had.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nightmares, watching, and being watched

Fire.  
  
The unbearable searing on his skin is the first thing he registers.   
  
Danger.

  
...familiarity.   
  
It's a scene he's seen all too many times. Not enough to change the outcome, but more than enough to know it like the back of his hand. Hansol wills his eyes open against the stinging of the smoke quickly filling his room, ignoring the bitter taste in the back of his throat and rolls out of his bed, pulling the covers along with him. He bends down as low as he can, counts the five steps to the window and jumps out, blanket thrown in front of him to absorb the impact.   
  
As soon as he lands, he’s running, without a single glance at the burning house looming behind him. His movements are so practiced that they're almost mechanical in their execution, vaulting over the low brick fencing, feet carrying him down the street further and further away from the root of his nightmares.   
  
_Three blocks down, take a left, another block, cut through the alley. Have to find Seungcheol-hyung, have to find Seungcheol-_   
  
"Hyung!"   
  
Hansol jerks awake, forehead knocking against Chan's chin, and both of them wince at the dull pain. Chan places a hand on his chest, gently pushing him back until he's lying down again. "Don't move around so much, you're still hurt." Hansol tries to protest but Chan's lips are pressed into a thin line and he pushes harder in warning. “Don’t rewrite yet,” he murmurs right by Hansol’s ear before sliding off the bed.   
  
"What.. happened?" Hansol whispers in horror, suddenly all too aware of the lack of sensation in his lower half. He tries to move, panic settling in when he can't shift anything. "Why are my legs..."   
  
Chan looks away, hiding the sadness in his eyes. "It's alright, Hansol-hyung, I'm sure they'll be able to fix you right up."   
  
"They? Who are you talking about?" Hansol looks around frantically, only now taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. "Where are we? Where's Junnie-hyung?"   
  
"The faction, hyung. How could you forget?" Chan says with a smile entirely bizarre in its circumstance, tilting his head almost cutely. "They were kind enough to take us back, even though we left them on such a bad note. I have to see to Jun-hyung now. You need to rest more, hyungie."   
  
He doesn't give Hansol a chance to say anything, leaving him with only a warning glance and the clicking of the lock sliding into place.

  
  
*

  
  
“...with the faction… ah the signal is corrupt… sorry.”   
  
Wonwoo hits the spacebar almost aggressively, pausing the audio. His little audience of two snap out of their staring contest with a start.   
  
“Hyung you’ve been at this for like seven hours already, isn’t it pretty clear there’s nothing wrong with it?” Mingyu says with a yawn, rubbing his eyes. He leans most of his body weight on Minghao, who grudgingly allows him with a quiet grumble.   
  
Wonwoo doesn’t hear whatever he says afterwards, lost in his own mind chasing after a stray thought he can’t quite grasp. “Clear…  that’s it! It’s too clear, his voice – he’s doing it on purpose. The signal has nothing to do with this, he’s trying to say something.”   
  
Minghao picks up his train of thought quickly, running through several different scenarios in his head. “You’re right. There must been some reason he couldn’t just tell us straight up.” He speaks slowly, as if piecing together a puzzle word by word. “So if his voice getting cut off wasn’t because of bad signal, he was purposefully pausing to tell us whatever it was he couldn’t say.”   
  
“I think… I think I may have an idea of what he was trying to do,” Wonwoo says, spinning back to his computer with a newfound determination. “I just need to cut out all of the… stitch them together…”   
  
Mingyu and Minghao joins him, leaning over to watch him work. Mingyu rests a hand on his shoulder, a steady assurance.   
  
“Alright, here,” Wonwoo takes a deep breath, preparing himself for what he knows would come, and hits play.   
  
A second of silence.   
  
“Don’t… come… after… us…” Mingyu’s fingers dig into Wonwoo’s shoulder, it should feel painful, but neither seem to take notice. “...not… safe… faction… corrupt…”   
  
Someone inhales sharply. “Shit- that’s- those motherfuckers got the time to take our people but not stop their own little cult from rotting from the inside, huh?” Minghao hisses.   
  
The studio door slams open behind them and rebounds off the wall, the impact creating ripples in Wonwoo’s mug of already cold coffee.   
  
“Good morning! Has anyone seen Shua-hyung?” Seokmin’s bright voice rings out, sounding ungodly cheerful and put together for half past six in the morning. “I think Jeonghannie-hyung’s gonna tear his hair out if we don’t find him soon.”   
  
“He was planning to go to his faction headquarters today, weren't you listening last night?” Mingyu says, before his mind finally catches up and the dots connect. Wonwoo can't find it in himself to laugh at the way Mingyu’s expression twists as realization dawns on him. “Oh. Oh no. He's gone already, hasn’t he.” 

 

* 

  
Junhui falls asleep minutes after Chan leaves him, completely drained of energy mentally and physically after the previous day's events. A single point of light breaks into the nothingness sleep pulls him into, expands and spreads until it's washed out anything else Junhui's subconscious conjures up.   
  
Jun turns around and finds himself in what looks like the bare skeleton of a meeting room. Everything is blindingly white from the table to chairs around it to the walls and floor. Hansol materializes next to him, visibly confused at the situation just as Junhui is. A moment later, Chan joins them.   
  
"Hey hyungie, sorry for doing this without warning, but it's the only way I could think of to talk to you without giving away anything," Chan says. He pulls out a chair and slumps down into it, bringing his legs up to prop his chin on. "Also about how I was talking to both of you disrespectfully earlier, that was for show. Although I'm sure you could tell, I still have to apologize."   
  
Hansol shakes his head, leaning against the wall. "It's fine, you're technically a higher rank than us in the faction anyway." He pauses and looks down. "Why can't I use rewrite to fix my legs? The longer we wait the more information I'll lose when I do it."   
  
"Your link to Trez'lethian was formed after we left, so the faction doesn't know what you can do. Last night the Choi family – the stem family, not your branch, came after you. We managed to fend them off as much as we could, but they did a fair bit of damage before the faction arrived." Chan explains.   
  
"So we're in good hands, right?" Jun continues to be optimistic as ever, "they did save us and all."   
  
Chan sighs, absentmindedly picking at the hem of his shirt. "That's what I thought too. Then Mingyu-hyung called me while we were in the car and one dude panicked and almost strangled me when I tried to pick up. I had to convince them that letting the hyungs know we're safe was beneficial to them before they let me off."   
  
Hansol's brows knit together, gaze falling upon the bruises colouring Chan’s neck. "Do you know what they're after? Why they're doing this now?"   
  
"Of course, hyungie," Chan replies. "I asked some questions last night after people fell asleep. Not many, though, can't afford to raise suspicions, even if it's in a dream. Seems like the Choi family have formed some kind of alliance with the holy camp, which is already falling apart on the inside – the faction elders have completely split and they're not even trying to hide their animosity at this point. The family want you back as a pawn or out of the game, and in return they agreed to withdraw their forces from the neutral faction.   
  
“What about the Lee family? They have to have eyes here, right?” Junhui asks, the cheer in his voice reappearing.   
  
“I’ve passed on a message during that call with Mingyu-hyung, I’m confident they’ll pick up on it. As for my family, there’s no way they don’t know what happened. The biggest informant network in the city is no joke.” Chan smiles, really smiles for the first time since they were taken. “They can’t keep us here for long.”

 

*

  
  
Taehyung walks in and is greeted by the sight of Jisoo watching the chaos unfold inside his dorm across the road. Jisoo closes the gap in the curtain and steps away from the window with a light sigh, turning to face Taehyung. “Father sent you here?”   
  
“Yes,” comes Taehyung’s curt reply. “Can’t afford to let you disappear on us again, Joshushushu.”   
  
“Call me that again and you’ll be less alive than you are now, vampire.”   
  
“Oh you won’t do anything, you love me.” Taehyung grins, looping his arms around Jisoo’s neck and clings to him like a vampire sized puppy. When he speaks again his voice is thick with tears and muffled against Jisoo’s hoodie. “I missed you so much. We both did.”   
  
Joshua sighs and hugs him tight, a hand stroking down his back in a form of reassurance. “I won’t make any more trouble for you and Jimin. Promise.”   
  
“You better,” Taehyung pulls back, wiping at his eyes roughly as if angry at them for crying. “You do not understand how angry your father was when you left. He thought the chaos faction took you and he quite literally set their headquarters on fire and- Jiminnie is here!”   
  
Taehyung runs to the window and throws the curtain open, waving wildly at Jimin down below, who looks up as he’s getting out of the car and smiles with the force of a million suns. Jisoo has to duck and roll behind the couch to avoid being seen. “How’d you know?”   
  
“Soulmate telepathy,” is the reply Jisoo gets, with a cheesy wink tacked onto the end. Taehyung puts his hands on Jisoo’s shoulders and steers him toward the dining room. “Jiminnie brought takeout. We’ll explain while we eat.”   
  
Joshua smiles. “You two know me too well,” he takes the seat next to Taehyung. “Please do explain why father changed his mind and wanted me to come here instead of going back to the faction.” The ‘what the fuck did you two do’ sits unsaid but most certainly understood.   
  
“Ah we just, not-so-accidentally let slip to your father that the faction elders were planning to soul siphon the most gifted ones of our generation is all,” Jimin says with a teasing glint in his eyes, opening several takeout boxes and sitting down on the other side of Jisoo. “He was scolding us for not focusing on looking for you and we had to distract him somehow, right, Taetae?”   
  
Jisoo finds himself sighing an awful lot in the presence of Jimin and Taehyung. He breaks apart a pair of chopsticks and pokes at his food. “Soul siphoning? Is that some type of new link?”   
  
The two exchange a look, both of them urging the other to speak up. After a few moments Taehyung gives in. “It’s… You really haven’t been staying in touch with the factions at all, Jisoo. It’s a forbidden ritual.”   
  
_Crack_ . Jisoo’s chopsticks snap cleanly in half, a broken piece flying and almost impaling Jimin. “It’s… Care to repeat that for me, Kim Taehyung?”   
  
Taehyung gulps nervously, suddenly finding his kimchi fried rice extremely intriguing. “Forbidden ritual.” He mumbles under his breath. “They remove the soul from a body and replace it with another. They did it a lot in the old days to keep important and powerful figures alive for a long time. It was common especially in the holy faction because we don’t have nearly as many immortals as the other two alignments.”   
  
“They want to do it again before the dawning of a new era. You know how the link to the gods become stronger with each generation – our’s is the last one before the dawning. The elders want to take our powers and remain in control of the faction.” Jimin continues. “That’d give them the leverage to take control of the other two alignments as well.”   
  
“This is what they took Junhui, Chan and Hansol for?” Jisoo asks through gritted teeth.   
  
“They wanted to take you too. Your father was told to call you back to the faction without any explanation from the elders. It’s by sheer luck that you weren’t with those three.” Jimin adds, venom teeming in every syllable. “The bastards locked me and Taehyung away too, but we escaped and passed word onto your father before coming here to meet you.”   
  
Jimin makes it sound so easy, but Jisoo knows, by the pallor of their faces and fading wounds their clothes don’t quite cover that it was a difficult fight. “Jimin-ah, Taehyung-ah… thank you.” He doesn’t have the words to express the gratitude he holds for them, so he just grabs both their hands and gives a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll make them pay for even thinking of touching you. I swear.”   
  
“Your father wants us to bring you to one of the safe houses.” Taehyung says through a mouthful of food.   
  
Jimin makes a disgusted face. “Tae- god- I did not need to see that- eat like a civilized human being _please_ .”   
  
“ ’m not a human, twat.”   
  
“Which one, Taehyung?” Jisoo asks.   
  
Taehyung swallows his food, taking a moment to think. “The one on the east end of the city would be best. It’s just off the territories of all three factions, but we’d still be close enough in case anything happens. You can bring the rest of your… whatever that is, with you.” He jerks his head toward Jisoo’s dorm across the street.   
  
“Friends.” Jisoo says the same time as Jimin says, “A mess.”   
  
“Look,” Jisoo glares at him. “They’re just worried because I disappeared without a word thanks to a certain couple. You couldn’t have just told me straight up?”   
  
“Nah, too risky,” Taehyung says. “The factions have ears all over the place. Jimin and I have been slowly swapping out the people in this building with our own since we found you. Not to brag or anything, but this is definitely one of the safest places in the whole city right now.”   
  
They are silent for the remainder of their meal as Joshua considers his options. He could, should leave the three boys in the faction’s hands and go to the safe house with the rest of them. The holy faction must have tightened their security since Taehyung and Jimin escaped, and it’ll be far more difficult to get back in, let alone leave with three extra people in tow.

 

But he’s Hong Jisoo.

 

And Hong Jisoo never turns down a challenge.

 

“I think… I’m going to have to break the promise I made before, Taehyung.” Jisoo says slowly. “I’m going to get them out.”

 

*

 

Yoon Jeonghan, by definition, is a contradictory being – nonchalant toward everything, and yet so aware of every little detail. So full of words and feelings and never showing more than a smile. He speaks with gleaming knives and carries himself like a chipped marble statue.  
  
On this day, however, the statue cracks and the knives rust over, his heart lies still, beats loud enough to frighten. Words burst forth from an acid tongue, singing “danger, fear, loss” in a language not even he understands himself. On the day Jisoo leaves Jeonghan _breaks_ .   
  
Jeonghan doesn’t have to look to know he isn’t planning to come back, but he does anyway. The note Jisoo left lies atop his pillow quietly still as if a replacement for Jeonghan’s dead heart.   
  
He picks up the note and examines it again. Jisoo’s voice can almost be heard through the writing, letters carefully curled and linked together in an elegant slant. The colour burns his eyes. Bright, bright red on stark white paper. He smoothes a thumb over the paper, white snow warm against his skin.

  
Outside he hears the boys rush about in a panic. Jeonghan is pretty sure Minghao still hasn’t let go of Mingyu’s hand, instead dragging the poor sorcerer with him on multiple trips, teleporting all around the city.   
  
Further away, just across the hall and a floor up, he hears a woman’s voice in a hushed hiss.   
  
“Sir, the child you told us to watch over – Lee Chan – isn’t there,” Jeonghan’s interest is immediately piqued at their youngest’s name. He closes the curtains and waves a hand through the darkness. As if cutting through paper, a small tear appears with his movement, allowing the smallest window into the apartment occupied by the woman. Her voice comes through like she’s standing next to Jeonghan. “…no, it isn’t the dark faction, from what it seems according to his little gang of misfits, the leaders of Trez’lethian‘s followers have him.”   
  
Jeonghan silently curses himself for not being more careful last night, but continues listening in.   
  
“….are you certain, Sir? Would it not be better for him to stay- yes, of course. My most sincere apologies for questioning your decision.”

 

The woman leans back into the couch with a heavy exhale, gazing past the ceiling into some far off plane, lost in thought. Her phone slides out of her pocket, landing tantalizingly close to Jeonghan’s dimension door. He waits a moment, then carefully reaches through to take it.

 

The moment his fingers touch the phone, the woman’s gaze snaps to him. A growl comes from deep in her throat, her hands warping into black claws as she slashes at Jeonghan’s arm. He wraps his hand around the device and pulls back through the door, but she manages to land two deep, ugly gashes on his forearm anyway.

“Shit!” Jeonghan hisses and drops the phone, lifting his injured arm up to slow the bleeding. “Mingyu! Don’t leave yet! Where are your healing charms?”

Minghao appears behind him with Mingyu, still clinging to his hand just as Jeonghan thought. “What do you need them for, hyungie? I’ve still got six lef- oh fuck, what happened?” Mingyu’s already pushing Jeonghan down into a chair, drawing a piece of thin yellowed paper from his pouch of charms and seals.

He gently presses the charm onto the cuts, and the symbols drawn on the charm seem to come alive as Jeonghan’s blood soaks into the paper. Jeonghan feels a constant itch in his arm as the wounds quickly heal and close up. The ink fades from the charm and it flutters to the floor, revealing unblemished skin.

Jeonghan runs his hand over where the cuts were, breathing out a surprised gasp. “Your healing charms improved a lot since last time. It’s impressive, Gyu-ya.”

“Yeah,” Mingyu scratches the back of his head and grins widely. “Being dragged to the library by Hao and Wonwoo-hyung all the time is finally paying off. I’m planning to draw up a new kind to get rid of the scars the old healing charms left too.”

Minghao picks up the phone and hands it to Jeonghan after he changes out of the bloodied clothes. “What happened, Jeonghan-hyung? Whose phone is this?”

“Ah that, found a little spy. I think she works under someone from Jihoon and Chan’s line, she seemed pretty worried about Chan.” Jeonghan says, tossing the phone between his hands. “I’ll give this to Wonu and Jihoon and see what they come up with.”

“Alright hyung,” Mingyu says, concern still evident on his face. “Just… don’t do that again. Please.”

 

Jeonghan’s hand stalls on the doorknob. “I’ll try,” he says after a moment’s pause, then continues without looking at them. “Shua doesn’t need to hear about this.”

 

Mingyu and Minghao exchange worried glances between them as Jeonghan makes his exit, but neither say a thing, knowing full well whatever they say won't escape Jeonghan's ears.

 

"Let's clean up a bit before we leave," Minghao says, toeing at the bloodied carpet. "You know, we really gotta figure out a way to reuse charms. You can't keep buying gems by the pound."

 

Mingyu whines and tosses another charm into the air. It floats in front of him, locked in place by an unknown force. "It's not my fault it's so damn expensive. Besides, _someone_ won't let me use my family's money. Not all of us left on bad terms, you know." He clicks his tongue and a charred spot appears in the middle of the paper, quickly eating away at the charm.

 

When all the paper has burned away, the inked symbols remain in the air. Mingyu directs half of them to where Jeonghan's blood dripped on the carpet, then a couple more to the ruined shirt. He picks out a blank charm and the rest of the symbols float into it.

 

"What charm is that? I've never seen you use it before." Minghao says, plucking the paper from Mingyu's fingers and tries to decipher the symbols. "Restoration, time, what else did you add? It's a revised healing charm, right?"

 

"It's based on Hansol's link. I've had the idea for a while but only got around to it recently. At least it works," Mingyu examines the shirt, now mended and giving off the scent of fresh laundry. "Looks like it goes a little farther back than I expected, but I can probably fix that."

 

Minghao nods in half understanding and hands the charm back to Mingyu. "Don't mess with time too much. You're not Hansollie."

 

Mingyu stops for a second. “You think they’ll be alright?”

 

“Who?”

 

“Hansol, Channie, Jun-hyung… everyone. Us.”

 

Minghao sighs and pulls Mingyu into a hug, raising himself up on tiptoes to let Mingyu rest his head against his shoulder. “Have we ever been, really, alright?” Minghao starts moving away but Mingyu makes a pitiful noise and he freezes in place.

 

“Haven’t you sensed it too?” Mingyu asks. “The link is growing stronger by the day. I don’t know how long we have left before…”

 

 _Before_ they _return. Before the new era._

 

_Before you leave me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a biiiiiig thank u to gabby and shima for your moral support and suggestions and also editing my hopeless grammar i love u uwu
> 
> comments/kudos/bookmarks are v v much appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> hello! thank you for reading oceans catch fire! this is my first fic... ever? I think? 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading this! Comments are much appreciated :)


End file.
